Tonight's Dinner: Daisy Martinez' Arroz Con Pollo

I got the original for this from the new Daisy Martinez tv show on Food Network called Viva Daisy.  It takes awhile to do everything because you have to make the Achiote Oil and the Sofrito before you start the cooking. Really takes awhile when you use brown rice, like I did.

This was very good. I made one change. I sprinkled some Goya Adobo on the chicken instead of salt and pepper. Otherwise I pretty  much made it as is (omitted the olives too).

1/4 cup Achiote Oil, recipe follows

1 pkg boneless skinless chicken thighs

sea salt and black pepper

1/2 cup Sofrito, see following recipe

1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimentos

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch ground cloves

4 cups long grain rice (used brown)

4 cups homemade chicken broth, or store-bought organic

2  large roasted red peppers, cut into 1/4" strips

For the Achiote Oil: Put 2 tbsp annatto seeds in a skillet with 1 cup of olive oil. Heat just until it starts to simmer. Turn off. Set aside.

For sofrito: Chop 1 onion, 2 frying peppers, and 8 cloves of garlic into a food processor fitted with an S blade. Pulse a few times. Add remaining ingredients (1/2 bunch cilantro, 5 aji dulce*, 3 leaves culantro**, 2 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped and 1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped).

For chicken: In a paella pan or large skillet with a tight fitting lid, heat the Achiote Oil over MED-HIGH heat until the oil is rippling. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add as many  pieces as you can without touching. Cook, turning as necessary, until well browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Adjsut heat under the pan so the chicken cooks with the oil changing color.

When all the chicken is done, add the sofrito and olives. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Raise the heat to HIGH and boil until most of the water in the sofrito has evaporated. Add the cumin and cloves.

Stir in the rice until coated with oil. Return the chicken to the pan, pour in enough broth to cover the rice by a width of 2 fingers (about an inch) and bring to a boil. Cook over HIGH heat until the level of liquid reaches the rice. Stir gently and reduce heat to LOW. Cover the pan and cook until the liquid is absorbed, the chicken is cooked through, and thte rice is tender but firm, aboutu 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. The dish can be brought to the table in the pan or transfered to a large serving platter. Garnish with red pepper before serving.

Risa's notes:

* aji dulce are small peppers that look like habaneros but are sweet.

** culantro is an herb that is a bit stronger in taste than cilantro. Has bigger leaves.

I used brown rice.

RisaG